LONDON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - British consumer morale was less negative than expected this month but remained in the doldrums as people fretted about the current economic climate, a survey showed on Friday.
However, there are signs that people are becoming less pessimistic about the year ahead.
The GfK/NOP consumer sentiment index rose to -35 in February from -37 in January, above analysts' forecasts for a deterioration to -39, which would have matched the series low set last July.
The survey suggests the economic downturn is continuing to weigh on sentiment and is likely to reinforce expectations the Bank of England will cut borrowing costs again next week from the current record low of 1 percent.
The index measuring people's perception of the economic climate over the last 12 months deteriorated to -82, its worst since records started in 1982. Britain is suffering its first recession since the early 1990s as a global shortage of credit has hit businesses and consumers hard.
However Friday's survey suggested people are becoming more hopeful about the future, possibly encouraged by record low interest rates, which have reduced monthly mortgage payments.
The index gauging people's expectations for their personal finances in the next 12 months rose to -8 from -14. That was the highest since May 2008 but still 14 points down from a year ago.
The forward-looking index for gauging the economic sitution improved to -40 from -48, the least negative reading since September, and 11 points down on the year.
"This suggests a growing number of consumers believe that things will be better this time next year," said Rachael Joy, who works on the GfK NOP survey.
The survey was conducted between Feb. 6 and Feb. 15.
For a table of the data, please click on [nLQ841936] (Reporting by Fiona Shaikh; editing by Stephen Nisbet)